This gear was returned in great condition, with only minor signs of use, such as slight scuffs or pick marks. It looks and plays like new and may be considered an equivalent to display units found in retail stores.

Alnico single-coil tone with modern refinements and superb craftsmanship.

The G&L Legacy blends contemporary refinements from the Leo Fender-designed S-500 and Comanche models with classic Alnico V pickups. If your holy grail is faithful Alnico single-coil tone with modern refinements and superb craftsmanship, the Legacy makes for an excellent choice.

The Legacy's vintage-spec CLF-100 Alnico V pickups have that unmistakable chime and quack reminiscent of the best examples from the late ‘50s, thanks to the work of Paul Gagon, G&L VP Engineering. Gagon found his inspiration reviewing original prints stored in Leo's private laboratory at G&L, but that was just the start. About 30 years ago, Gagon was an R&D engineer at another company when he was tasked with finding out what was so special about the early bolt-on guitars many players raved about. Gagon tirelessly analyzed many examples of what were considered holy grail guitars, spending time out on the shop floor talking to builders still working in the pickup department since the ‘50s, all on a quest to discover where the real mojo was - and wasn't. What he learned from the builders matched his own engineering analysis. You see, back in the day, the actual spec of pickups coming down that old production line varied considerably. That meant coming up with the right specs for the Legacy pickups was more challenging than simply following the prints. Gagon's persistence paid off as the Legacy garnered rave reviews from both players and magazines like Guitar Player and Guitar World.

This axe is no slave to the past, however, starting with Leo's PTB (Passive Treble and Bass) system which functions on all three pickups for dramatically more variety than the vintage setup. What's more, the Legacy features a Leo Fender-designed Dual-Fulcrum vibrato, a work of engineering art which allows bending up or down with unsurpassed stability, while offering a silky feel through its beefy aluminum vibrato arm.

The Legacy is all about honest, classic Alnico tone complemented by Leo's own modern refinements. And now, it's available at a price within reach of every working musician.

I wanted to try a G&L as I had heard about their high quality, and they are used by one of my favorite guitarists. I've been gigging with a deluxe player's strat...Read complete review

I wanted to try a G&L as I had heard about their high quality, and they are used by one of my favorite guitarists. I've been gigging with a deluxe player's strat for 8 years, among several other guitars. I have played guitar for 40 years.What I notice about the tribute legacy right away is: excellent quality finish of the neck and body (black, with maple board, tortoise shell guard, white pickups/knobs), nicely trimmed medium jumbo frets, superior quality dual fulcrum tailpiece/bridge/vibrato (big improvement over the competing brand), master "PTB" treble and bass tone controls that can be used with all pickup settings and are actually useful in EQ'ing the sound of the guitar depending on the pickups selected, the amp and the song. I never used the tone controls on my strat, and always wished for one controlling the bridge pickup. Hooray!The pickups are a little brighter than the noiseless pups of the DPS and they produce high quality strat tones across the spectrum. They do well with a good amp and effects, in a band situation. The guitar is nicely resonant unplugged, no dead spots. It's well made.

concerns: neck was bowed with excess relief. truss rod was loose, initially, but with proper careful adjustment, the neck relief was easily corrected with the supplied hardware. I changed the strings to those of my liking, 10-46, and adjusted the bridge saddles which were set too high. (Nice saddles!). String alignment was off a little. I found a fix for this on an online forum for G&L's. There was excessive crackling/static on touching the pickguard, while plugged in. I also found a fix for this on the online forum and was able to perform this myself by shielding the underside of the pickguard with aluminum tape. This worked well. I put straplocks on it, and obtained a quality gig bag for it, as it did not come with a case. So, I've had to do a bit of work to tune it up, but the outcome is a high quality/high value guitar that meets my standards, and is superior to the competition in its price range, for a better price!

VS

Most Liked Negative Review

What a way to do business, G & L . . .

The adjustable truss rod in the neck became disconnected internally, and now the neck has a terrible bow to it now. I tried buying a replacement neck from a number of G...Read complete review

The adjustable truss rod in the neck became disconnected internally, and now the neck has a terrible bow to it now. I tried buying a replacement neck from a number of G & L dealers-they just can't get replacement necks. Fender or other brands don't fit either. Now I have a completely unusable guitar that's only 2 years old. The funny thing is, I'm not a kid. I'm an older guy who made every effort to give this guitar the best treatment available.

It's essentially a Fender "S" style guitar in the price range of a mexican strat... but with a neck that is nicely finished, straight, with no overhanging frets like on every fender I have ever owned, 18:1 ratio tuners that actually hold tune, a sturdy and well made bridge that aids tuning stability and has great sustain, good pickups with useable tones in all pickup selector positions (with the PTB tone adjustments, if the selection is too bright, roll off the treble until it's right, if its too boomy, roll off the bass until it's right), pickups are never muddy.

I am just a chord strummer and trying to improve and learn, but I know quality hardware and this guitar is well made. It's not even in the same league as the mexican strats (have owned two and a squire tele). I was tentative as I had never played a G&L, but took a chance and am glad I did.

Setup was good out of the box, just tuned it and I was playing, action is good, no fret buzz at all. Really an amazing guitar at a reasonable price point. If you like fenders and squires, but want one that stays in tune and has that "feel" of quality that they lack... buy one of these. You won't be dissappointed. It's also heavy feeling which to me is a plus... again, adds to the feel. Like you are really holding something substantial.

Only complaint is that the transparent section of the sunburst I bought has a green hint to it. I like red hues and the orange-honey tones on the ones I have seen so was a little let down by that, but still a beautiful guitar.

Very nice instrument. Set up was close enough I didn't adjust anything. The only negative, and this goes for most guitars of this type is the annoying static from the pick guard . Excellent value for a well built guitar. For a similar Strat with the same feel and quality....$1500. Nuff said...this is a keeper.

What an unbelievable guitar. The fit and finish rivals guitars I paid 2 or 3 times as much to purchase. It has that "feel". Great sustain. Pickups are not hot and harsh like some of the newer single coils, but have a warmth without giving up the punch when your solo has to count. I like the G&L approach to tone controls, one can take any boomy sound off the bottom, without affecting the treble knob setting of the highs. I have owned at least a dozen strats, and this one became my favorite right away. Even though the bridge is very stable, I am not a whammy bar user, so I blocked it anyway, just the way I roll. The set up out of the box was pretty good, and I am really picky so I did tweek it a little bit. If a person is even mildly interested in this type of guitar, you cannot go wrong with one of these.

I wanted to try a G&L as I had heard about their high quality, and they are used by one of my favorite guitarists. I've been gigging with a deluxe player's strat for 8 years, among several other guitars. I have played guitar for 40 years.What I notice about the tribute legacy right away is: excellent quality finish of the neck and body (black, with maple board, tortoise shell guard, white pickups/knobs), nicely trimmed medium jumbo frets, superior quality dual fulcrum tailpiece/bridge/vibrato (big improvement over the competing brand), master "PTB" treble and bass tone controls that can be used with all pickup settings and are actually useful in EQ'ing the sound of the guitar depending on the pickups selected, the amp and the song. I never used the tone controls on my strat, and always wished for one controlling the bridge pickup. Hooray!The pickups are a little brighter than the noiseless pups of the DPS and they produce high quality strat tones across the spectrum. They do well with a good amp and effects, in a band situation. The guitar is nicely resonant unplugged, no dead spots. It's well made.

concerns: neck was bowed with excess relief. truss rod was loose, initially, but with proper careful adjustment, the neck relief was easily corrected with the supplied hardware. I changed the strings to those of my liking, 10-46, and adjusted the bridge saddles which were set too high. (Nice saddles!). String alignment was off a little. I found a fix for this on an online forum for G&L's. There was excessive crackling/static on touching the pickguard, while plugged in. I also found a fix for this on the online forum and was able to perform this myself by shielding the underside of the pickguard with aluminum tape. This worked well. I put straplocks on it, and obtained a quality gig bag for it, as it did not come with a case. So, I've had to do a bit of work to tune it up, but the outcome is a high quality/high value guitar that meets my standards, and is superior to the competition in its price range, for a better price!

At first I was a little disappointed because the finish was darker than I expected. It almost looks black. In certain light, you can see the blue. It's still a sharp looking guitar. It plays nice and sounds nice. Over all, I'm happy with it. This is my second G&L guitar. I also have an ASAT that I purchased over 15 years ago. I would recommend both to anyone.

The adjustable truss rod in the neck became disconnected internally, and now the neck has a terrible bow to it now. I tried buying a replacement neck from a number of G & L dealers-they just can't get replacement necks. Fender or other brands don't fit either. Now I have a completely unusable guitar that's only 2 years old. The funny thing is, I'm not a kid. I'm an older guy who made every effort to give this guitar the best treatment available.

I ordered a G&L Legacy Tribute months ago. It was on back order for a long time. Delivery kept getting delayed. Finally they sent me an HB version in error. It seemed OK but I really wanted the SSS version to try out so I sent it back. More waiting and then a month later they send me the same HB version again! But this time, I really begin to see that it has some extra versatility with the splittable Humbucker pickup at the bridge. Really nice. The tone knobs are really sensitive and you can dial up a wide range of sounds. I decided to keep it. The guitar gods wanted me to have this one. G&L makes quality guitars and the Tribute versions are top notch. I seemed to have gotten the last HB version on MF's site. Perhaps G&L will be coming out with a new version for 2014.

No complaints at all. Just be aware that the blueburst is very dark. The instrument appears black in darker rooms. Considering the quality of the finish I would not be unhappy if it were actually black. Great tone,sounds like a Strat should, and it ressonates forever.